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SHOPPER'S WORLD; New Interest in Scotland's Painted Pottery

Published: February 3, 1991

SCOTTISH painted enamel pottery of the early 20th century, with its organic designs and broad palette, brought color and life into the dark homes of the dour north. Until six or eight years ago, Scottish painted pottery could still be found in cheaper antique shops, in junk stores and in the Barras, Glasgow's flea market. But now dealers are snapping up anything of quality to come onto the market.

The popularity of 20th-century Scottish painted pottery is rising fast -- especially in Scotland, but as far away as Japan. "Recently a Japanese collector arrived with an interpreter and bought many pieces," said Judy Letham of Letham Antiques in Edinburgh. At the shop recently was a green and black bowl, decorated with a parrot heavily outlined in black like stained glass, bearing the signature of Elizabeth Mary Watt, priced at $330 (prices at $2 to the pound).

"Ten years ago I bought and sold bits of painted pottery for very little," said Judy Letham. Now, she said, Princess Di's mother is among her regular customers for Scottish pottery.

Also at the shop was a purple bowl, signed R. A. and marked "Bough," enhanced with medallions of fruit in green and rose, its bold style typical of the Bough studio in Edinburgh. A tea set, including pot, sugar, creamer and two cups and saucers, delicately painted on a white ground with flowering trees, hollyhocks and lupines, $390, was made at the Mak'Merry studio under the direction of Catherine Blair. Other pieces in good condition start at about $100 for a jug.

Elizabeth Mary Watt, Catherine Blair and R. A. (Richard Amour) were among the generation of painters of Scottish pottery that flourished from the beginning of the century to just before World War II. Their pieces show affinities for the decorative arts of the Arts and Crafts Movement, for the Art Nouveau style and for the decorative work of the Wiener Werkstaette.

The influence of Japanese woodblock prints, with their sinuous black outlines filled with flat color, is evident. These areas of color, in some cases enlivened by deliberately rough brushwork, often boldly outlined in black or brown, depict lively, organic forms of fruits, leaves and flowers (less often, animals or landscapes). Colors tend toward greens, browns and purples, or modulated primary colors like blackish or teal blue, rose or orange, often against a creamy background.

The ceramics themselves were usually purchased from mass-production potteries in Scotland, or, occasionly, England. Many pieces are unsigned, or signed only with initials, many of which have yet to be identified.

Sheena McKay and Martin Forrest of Forrest McKay in Edinburgh specialize in the decorative arts of the early 20th century. On a recent visit they had a good number of Bough pieces, including a magnolia-patterned black and green box, signed R. A., an apple blossom variation on a famille rose plum blossom vase, $220 and a set of little pots decorated with cloud scrolls in pink, green, black and white in a Chinese style. A Mak'Merry tea service featured roughly painted white camellias with bright green leaves and bands of blue and gray. A quaich, a double-handled shallow cup derived from an ancient metal form, signed C. B. Bell and decorated with flattened, stylized camellias, $200, showed a strong Japanese influence.

With few exceptions, the creative energy that fueled the production of painted pottery was provided by women, many of them trained at the Glasgow School of Art. Elizabeth Mary Watt studied at the art school from 1906 until 1917 and later made her living as a commercial pottery painter, exhibiting until she died in 1954.

AT the turn of the century ceramic painting was already a popular pastime among genteel Victorian women, according to Jonathan Kinghorn, ceramics specialist for the Glasgow Museums & Galleries. Some of the women remained at the school for years, exhibiting their work at the school and at the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists. Graduates stayed at the school to teach, or set up independent workshops to teach and to produce their own work.

Among the women who taught ceramics at the school Elizabeth Mary Watt, Ann Macbeth, Jessie M. King and Elizabeth Amour stand out. Ann Macbeth, who taught there from 1901 until 1928, was known primarily for her embroidery (at that time an important component of fashion and interior design) but taught metalwork and bookbinding as well as ceramics. Jessie M. King taught bookbinding and ceramic decoration, designed wallpapers and fabrics, as well as silver and jewelry for Liberty & Co. She continued as an active pottery painter at her studio in Kirkcudbright, near the English border, until her death in 1949. Elizabeth Amour (pronounced AH-mor), a graduate of the school, started the Bough Studio in Edinburgh with her brother Richard. Their work is known for its bold design and color. Bough production continued until 1940 and the war.

In Glasgow, Christie's Scotland has Decorative Art and Scottish Pottery sales four times a year. "There's a great awareness of the Glasgow School of Art. The lady pottery painters really entered the national market six or seven years ago," said Jacqueline Lacey, a spokeswoman for Christie's, "and we now try to bring pieces made in Scotland up from the south." She noted that the auction house had a good deal of work by Jessie M. King for $600 to $800 and Elizabeth Mary Watt for up to $600.

There were few pieces to be found at antique shops in Glasgow. But Christina Kilgour at Kilgour Antiques is devoted to the field and is always worth checking out for ceramics and jewelry.

Catherine Blair, one of the few still-known pottery painters not associated with the Glasgow School of Art, was the founder in 1917 of the Scottish Rural Women's Institutes (affectionately known as 'the Rural' and still going strong after 70 years), dedicated to improving the lives of poor women in the countryside. In 1919, she established Mak'Merry Studio at her farm in East Lothian, near Edinburgh, to teach ceramic decoration and encourage country women to earn some extra income and pass on their skills to others.

Mak'Merry pieces are lighter in color and less bold in design than Bough or some of the other Glasgow-related potteries. The Mak'Merry pieces include geometric designs and use such archaic elements as dragons, reminiscent of William Morris and the English Arts and Crafts Movement.

Stump and Zoo, two of the wares painted by men, are appealingly ingenuous, combining figurative motifs with rhythmic geometric borders. William John Watt, a veteran of World War I who had lost both his hands, established Stump in 1927 at Longniddry, near Edinburgh, where he painted unglazed blanks with brush attached by rubber bands to his forearm. William Miles Johnston incorporated spirited drawings of animals observed at the Edinburgh Zoo in his Zoo wares, decorated at Kirkcudbright.

A search for this appealing pottery should start at two museums. The Huntley House Museum in Edinburgh is dedicated to the industrial arts of the region. Its well-labeled, unusually informative display includes a good selection of painted pottery produced at Bough, Mak'Merry, Stump and Zoo, as well as underglaze wares from Allander, Dunmore and Holyrood.

The Glasgow Museum & Art Gallery shows Scottish ceramics both in the second-floor decorative arts area and in the Glasgow Style gallery. Included are works of Ann Macbeth, Jessie M. King, Bough and Mak'Merry. Curators (called keepers in Britain) in Scottish museums are quite accessible to visitors who display a serious interest in some specific aspect of their collections. FINDING PAINTED POTTERY Shopping

Christie's Scotland, 164-166 Bath Street, Glasgow; 332 8134. Auctions are usually held on Wednesday or Thursday, with viewings on the preceding Monday. Check Christie's ads in The Glasgow Herald every Monday or telephone.

Photos: A plate painted by Elizabeth Mary Watt, at Letham Antiques. A bowl painted by W. J. Watt, at the Huntley House Museum in Edinburgh. A customer is shown a Stump tea set at Letham Antiques in Edinburgh. (Ken Paterson for The New York Times)

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